Stretch Your Forearms the Right Way (Doctor of PT)

Hooper’s Beta Ep. 45

Intro

Stretching the forearms can seem like a simple task, bend your wrist forward and back and you’re done, right? Well, no. Not at all. The human body is as awesome as it is complicated. It is intricately designed to allow us to move in multiple planes of motion. But to accomplish that, it had to finely adjust the placement of each muscle to work appropriately. If we take a look at those intricacies and start to better understand the anatomy of the forearm, we realize that by making a few minor adjustments, we can make some major improvements to our stretching. 

In this video, we will use some markers to illustrate the important anatomy to climbing while demonstrating how to specifically target each muscle. This can be used as a tool in the future to assess areas of tension, to work on a stretch program, or when you are recovering from an injury. 

Identifying the Anatomy

*aka, my poor attempt at drawing on my forearm*

The list below identifies the muscle groups and their origin and insertion (aka, where they start and finish).

Extensors

1. Extensor carpi radialis longus

   1. Origin: Lateral supracondylar ridge of humerus

   2. Insertion: base of second metacarpal bone

   3. Action: wrist extension and abduction (radial deviation)

2. Extensor carpi radialis brevis

   1. Origin: Lateral epicondyle of humerus

   2. Insertion: base of third metacarpal bone

   3. Action: wrist extension and abduction (radial deviation)

3. Extensor carpi ulnaris 

   1. Origin: Lateral epicondyle of humerus and posterior border of ulna

   2. Insertion: base of 5th metacarpal bone 

   3. Action: wrist extension and adduction (ulnar deviation)

4. Extensor digitorum

   1. Origin: Lateral epicondyle of humerus

   2. Insertion: extensor expansions of medial four digits 

   3. Action: Wrist extension, MCP, PIP, and DIP of 2-5 digits extension and abduction of fingers.

Flexors

1. Flexor carpi radialis

   1. Origin: Medial epicondyle of humerus

   2. Insertion: base of second metacarpal bone 

   3. Action: Wrist flexion and abduction of hand

   Flexor carpi ulnaris

   1. Origin: Humeral head: medial epicondyle of humerus and ulnar head: olecranon and posterior border of ulna

   2. Insertion: pisiform bone, hook of hamate bone, and 5th metacarpal 

   3. Action: wrist flexion and adduction of hand

2. Palmaris longus

   1. Origin: Medial epicondyle of humerus

   2. Insertion: distal half of flexor retinaculum and palmar aponeurosis

   3. Action: tightens palmar aponeurosis and is a weak elbow flexor

3. Flexor digitorum superficialis

   1. Origin: Medial epicondyle of humerus

   2. Insertion: bodies of middle phalanges of medial four digits

   3. Action: flexion of wrist, MCP, and PIP joints of 2nd to 5th digits

4. Flexor digitorum profundus

   1. Origin: Proximal three fourths of medial and anterior surfaces of ulna and interosseous membrane

   2. Insertion: bases of distal phalanges of medial 4 digits 

   3. Action: Flexion of wrist, MCP, PIP of 2nd to 5th digits

Targeting Each Muscle

Based upon the anatomy, we have seen that these muscles are going to benefit from different stretching positions. Some may be as subtle as allowing 1 joint to flex while everything else extends. Below, we list the different positions you should be putting your forearm through to get the desired effect. 

*Bolded items indicate an important position and/or change*

SECTION 1: Extensor stretches

1. Extensor carpi radialis longus

   1. Wrist: flexion with ulnar deviation

   2. Elbow: extended

   3. Phalanges: relaxed

2. Extensor carpi radialis brevis

   1. Wrist: flexion with ulnar deviation

   2. Elbow: flexed or extended

   3. Phalanges: relaxed

3. Extensor carpi ulnaris 

   1. Wrist: flexion and radial deviation

   2. Elbow: flexed or extended

   3. Phalanges: relaxed

4. Extensor digitorum 

   1. Wrist: flexion with neutral, radial, and ulnar deviation

   2. elbow , flexed or extended

   3. Phalanges: flexed 

SECTION 2: Flexor stretches

1. Thumber thighs 

   1. Thumb pointing towards hip, the rest of the things palmside down on the thigh, start to extend (straighten) your elbow until you feel a stretch

2. Flexor digitorum superficialis stretch

   1. Elbow: extended

   2. Wrist: extended

   3. MCP: extended

   4. PIP: extended

   5. DIP: flexed/relaxed

3. Flexor digitorum profundus stretch

   1. Elbow: extended

   2. Wrist: extended

   3. MCP: extended

   4. PIP: extended

   5. DIP: extended 

*BONUS* SECTION 3: Intrinsic Stretching

1. Active intrinsic stretch with foam 

2. Passive intrinsic stretch 

While I did not draw the intrinsic muscles on, the intrinsic muscles can become significantly limited. If you have tight lumbricals, don’t worry, it is not the end of your climbing career. But, if you can correlate it to an injury then these stretches will be helpful! Remember, information is a tool. You use the tools when the job calls for it.

Note: the active intrinsic stretch with foam is highly recommended. It is an active stretch of the intrinsics but (and almost more importantly so) it is a good way to activate and/or warm up the extensor digitorum!

Closing

I hope that this video teaches you more about anatomy and proper forearm stretching! Use your new knowledge to advance your stretches and finally identify what areas may be tight or limited for you!

If you have any other questions or comments please share!

Train. Climb. Send. Repeat. 

Disclaimer:

As always, exercises are to be performed assuming your own risk and should not be done if you feel you are at risk for injury. See a medical professional if you have concerns before starting new exercises.

Written and Produced by Jason Hooper (PT, DPT, OCS, SCS, CAFS) and Emile Modesitt

IG: @hoopersbetaofficial